The conviction of Making a Murderer subject Steven Avery’s nephew Brendan Dassey in Halbach homicide was overturned by a federal judge.
A federal judge in Milwaukee overturned Brendan Dassey’s murder conviction. Dassey is the nephew of Steven Avery, whose conviction was put into the spotlight after the Netflix hit documentary, Making a Murderer. The judge granted Dassey’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
Dassey was convicted, along with his uncle Steven Avery, in 2007 of first-degree intentional homicide, second-degree sexual assault, and mutilation of a corpse in the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach in Manitowoc County. Dassey's trial lasted 9 days. He was found guilty on April 25, 2007. The jury had been deliberating for four hours. Brendan was six months shy of being 18-years-old, but was both tried and sentenced as an adult. He was sentenced to life with no parole for 41 years. Dassey is currently incarcerated at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wis.
The federal judge ordered Dassey be released from custody unless the the state of Wisconsin initiates proceedings to re-try him within 90 days.
The judge called out Dassey's lawyer, Len Kachinsky, for misconduct. The court ruled Dassey's confession "involuntary" based on "false promises" by interrogators, "Dassey's age, intellectual deficits."
According to court documents, the judge also found that "in the event the respondent appeals this judgment, this judgment will be stayed pending resolution of that appeal.”
“The state courts unreasonably found that the investigators never made Dassey any promises during the March 1, 2006 interrogation. The investigators repeatedly claimed to already know what happened on October 31 and assured Dassey that he had nothing to worry about. These repeated false promises, when considered in conjunction with all relevant factors, most especially Dassey’s age, intellectual deficits, and the absence of a supportive adult, rendered Dassey’s confession involuntary under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.”
According to reports, Dassey will not be released until the appeals process is finished.
SOURCE: VARIETY
